Tour de France re-starts after farmers' protest

'The Tour de France is promoted as the world's greatest annual sporting event and, if you want the best global riders to come, maybe treat them with a little more respect.

The Tour de France - cycling's most prestigious race - was temporarily halted Tuesday after tear gas, used to disperse protesters by police, inadvertently got into the eyes of some riders.

The overall standings were unchanged.

The farmers' protest occurred 30 kilometres into the 218-kilometre (135.5-mile) leg from Carcassonne to Bagneres-de-Luchon.

Thomas, Froome and the green jersey Peter Sagan were among the riders who needed medical attention - including eye-drops - while the race was neutralised shortly after the 30km mark. He was cleared of wrongdoing just five days before the Tour started - at a time when organisers were seeking to ban Froome from racing at all. "I took Kristoff's wheel for the sprint", said Sagan.

"Froome has the experience and is the proven one out of the two", he added.

"I don't think spitting has a place in professional sport, or in everyday life, but it seems to be the thing that's done here (in France)".

This year's Tour de France has been marked by a series of incidents on the sidelines including abuse directed at Team Sky and Froome.

Thomas has been the most consistent rider of the Tour so far but Hayles says the Welshman has not yet been tested at this level. "It's hard in cycling when you're just on the open road".

"We are not going to lock the riders in a stadium or a tennis court", Tour director Christian Prudhomme said. "The riders' job is extremely risky, they are taking risks every day, people should not block the road, no matter what causes they are fighting for".

"I've said it before, but it's the first time I've raced for three weeks, as a GC (general classification) leader so it's a bit of an unknown", said Thomas, after he and Froome trailed home over 18 minutes behind Spanish stage victor Omar Fraile in Mende.

Julian Alaphilippe's descending skills made the difference as the Frenchman claimed his second victory in this year's Tour.

"He speaks our language, and he knows what the Tour gave him", he said.

He added: "I'm not sure they would like to have seen their (France) football players being spat at (the World Cup) in Russian Federation".

It was the second nasty crash of an action-packed stage, after Philippe Gilbert had earlier lost control, crashing into a wall and being spectacularly flung into a ditch.

Nibali was diagnosed with a fractured vertebra and the Bahrain-Merida rider later tweeted that he was withdrawing from the Tour.

That earned plenty of commentary at the Monday morning media call but Froome also offered some feedback on the leadership status at Team Sky.

This pair recently finished the Giro d'Italia in first and second overall... and now they're trying their luck in the second Grand Tour of 2018 and both are excelling, even if neither has yet won a stage nor worn the yellow jersey this year.

Assad advance spurs 'urgent' Russia-Israel talks on Syria bufferJul 24, 2018 - 22:45
The rescue workers and their families crossed out of Syria into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights before arriving in Jordan. According to him, the U.S. is trying to establish their own interests as the ones who initiated the evacuation.

Novichok victim discharged from British hospitalJul 23, 2018 - 18:46
Authorities are looking whether the couple's nerve agent exposure was linked to a recent attack on Skripal and Yulia. You never hear of someone being killed by Novichok so I thought it was important for people to remember her.

Pakistan complete series whitewash over ZimbabweJul 23, 2018 - 17:45
Pakistan beat Zimbabwe by 131 runs on Sunday in the fifth and final one-day worldwide to clean sweep the ODI series. Azam then took charge and scored at a brisk pace as Pakistan clobbered 44 runs in the last three overs.

White House rejects Putin idea for Ukraine referendumJul 21, 2018 - 17:45
Another official said aides thought a proper procedure had been put in place for Helsinki , but it did not work out. But on Thursday Mr Trump said the meeting was a "great success" and he was looking forward to their next meeting.

VERSE Footage Reveals John Mulaney Is Peter Porker, Spider-Ham!Jul 21, 2018 - 17:26
As you can imagine, it's being bundled with the highly anticipated new Marvel's Spider-Man video game that's exclusive to the PS4. The controller uses a mixture of that same red color along with white buttons to pair nicely with the console.

State governors caught in crossfire of Trump’s trade warJul 21, 2018 - 17:25
The products are produced in the People's Republic of China, an authoritarian Maoist communist world power. It could deploy measures against USA multinational companies operating in China such as consumer boycotts.

Hall H Debut Of New ‘Doctor Who’ Unveils New Season TeaserJul 21, 2018 - 15:58
The new Doctor points out how everything is new to her: new faces (including her own), new places, new times to travel through. Instead, the focus is on Doctor Who , The Simpsons , Supergirl , The Walking Dead and dozens of other television titles.

Prime Day drives record traffic to Amazon's Australian siteJul 21, 2018 - 15:56
Prime members in 17 countries participated in the online shopping event, including - for the first time - Australia. Retailers beyond Amazon have made big plays on Prime Day, and even more this year held their own Prime Day events .

U.S. crude oil production hit record level in JuneJul 21, 2018 - 15:45
Nonetheless, the jump in crude inventories may suggest that United States production is able to keep up with strong demand. Gasoline stocks rose by 425,000 barrels, compared with expectations in a Reuters poll for a 44,000-barrel decline.

NCAA awards Phoenix its second Final FourJul 19, 2018 - 15:42
The NCAA chose the event to be held in Houston in 2023, Phoenix in 2024, San Antonio in 2025 and Indianapolis in 2026. The Final Four will be played in Minneapolis in 2019, Atlanta in 2020 and New Orleans in 2022.

US, North Korea hold ‘productive’ talks on war remains: PompeoJul 19, 2018 - 13:59
The US Department of Defense has said that in the past the North has claimed to possess the remains of up to 200 US soldiers. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently returned to North Korea for what is believed to be his third trip to the nation.